Lakeland Man is Shot, Killed by Tampa Police After Crime Rampage in USF Area

Friday

Sep 6, 2013 at 12:18 PMSep 6, 2013 at 11:44 PM

A Lakeland man wanted for a series of sexual assaults and a home invasion that happened late Thursday and early Friday died after a shootout with Hillsborough County deputies Friday afternoon.

By JEREMY MAREADYTHE LEDGER

TAMPA | A Lakeland man wanted for a series of sexual assaults and a home invasion that happened late Thursday and early Friday died after a shootout with Hillsborough County deputies Friday afternoon.More than 100 shots were fired by deputies at Charlie Christopher Bates, 24, as he careened south on U.S. 301 shooting back at them, according to Hillsborough County Sheriff David Gee and Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor."There was a large amount of gunfire exchanged between the suspect and officers," Gee said during a roadside news briefing. "As a result, he was taken into custody."After the deputies failed to force him off the heavily traveled road, Bates eventually lost control in the high-speed pursuit, which reached speeds between 80 and 100 mph, Castor said."We could not allow it to go any further," Gee said.The violent end came after a prolonged manhunt Friday. Officials think Bates was on his way back to Polk County, Gee said.Bates' last known address is listed as 2855 8 Iron Drive in Lakeland, according to Lakeland Police reports. Following the shootout, he was taken to a local hospital where he died of his injuries just before 1:30 p.m. Friday.Bates was already wanted on several sexual assault charges, stemming from a home invasion and robbery Aug. 9, Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said during a news conference Friday morning during the search.During that home invasion, Castor said Bates broke into a home off Bush Boulevard in Tampa and told the woman inside to disrobe.But the woman began to pray and Bates took a cell phone and cash, but cut his head during the incident, leaving behind a trail of blood, Castor said. "We took the blood from that scene; sent it to FDLE (the Florida Department of Law Enforcement) lab; we got a match on the 29th for Charlie Bates.''After that, a warrant was issued for his arrest."We have been looking for him ever since," Castor added.On Friday, officers said the series of random but related crimes began about 11 p.m. Thursday and a set of fingerprints found during the preliminary investigation linked Bates to the scenes, Gee said.Officials said Bates forced his way into an apartment on Shiloh Woods Court at Cambridge Woods Apartments, near 42nd Street north of East Fletcher Ave. He bound the four men and sexually assaulted the four women inside, who were attending a football party, and instructed the victims not to call police for 30 minutes. They followed those instructions out of fear, deputies said.Bates then left the apartment and entered a second home in the nearby Eagle Point Apartments, investigators said.He approached a woman who was sitting on her porch, officials said. He forced her inside and made her undress.After she began reciting Bible passages and praying for him, he apologized, Tampa police said. His whole attitude seemed to change. They prayed together, and she ripped pages from a Bible and gave them to Bates, who then left. She called 911.After fleeing Eagle Point on foot, Bates entered a party inside a home at The Oaks apartment complex. He forced 25 people into a bedroom at gunpoint and fired at least one round into the carpet before leaving the scene, deputies said.While leaving the scene of the party, Bates encountered a male victim, whom he began to chase. The victim fled back to his apartment and closed the door while the suspect fired after him, missing the victim.Officers nearby, investigating the original incident at Cambridge Woods Apartments, heard the gunshots and caught a glimpse of the suspect as he fled.Bates was tracked by bloodhounds, which eventually lost his scent near a swampy area, Gee said.HCSO officials later got a tip that Bates was at a nearby apartment complex and a deputy spotted his car.Once Bates saw law enforcement, a chase ensued with Bates and law enforcement officers exchanging fire, Gee said.At least seven officers were involved and none was injured, Gee and Castor reported.Gee said deputies are still searching for a woman who may have been involved in the string of crimes. They have her cell phone but have not been able to contact her.During one of the incidents, Bates claimed that he had already killed one person, Gee said, adding there was no information to confirm his claim.Bates' family said Friday they called him about 7 p.m. Thursday to tell him there was a warrant for his arrest. During that conversation, Bates told them he loved them and posts on his Facebook page said he wanted to go out in a "blaze," Garfield Williams, Bates' stepfather, told Bay News 9.Williams said he asked law enforcement officers who were at his Lakeland home to call him when they found Bates and before things escalated, which he knew would happen.Bates tried committing suicide twice earlier this year by taking pills, Williams said."Like I told them (law enforcement), he was going to try suicide by cop."Williams watched the hunt for his stepson on television.He watched as deputies chased him down and shot him on the side of the road."He had already made his peace," Williams said. "He had made up his mind ... he was going to let the cops kill him."

[ Jeremy Maready can be reached at jeremy.maready@theledger.com or 863-802- 7592. Information from the Tampa Bay Times and Bay News 9 was used in this report. ]

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